Van Sobol, right, has jumped from a plane more than 500 times, for fun and in competition. The 20-year-old Chapman student has been skydiving since she was 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

ORANGE – She's an accomplished soccer player, one of the best on the women's team at Chapman University.

So, naturally, Val Sobol is very good at diving.

Sorry, couldn't resist making the easy, dim-witted-American joke at the expense of the world's game.

Truth is, though, Sobol is a tremendous diver. At least when her parachute works. Because a couple of times, it hasn't.

"In the heat of the moment, when it happens, everything actually goes really slow," Sobol says.

Sorry, but I'm guessing my heart, as my body is whistling toward the hard, hard ground, dropping at roughly 120 mph, with nothing between me and the dirt but rapidly disappearing open space, would not be beating reallyslow.

"You're just thinking about saving your life, right?" she continues. "The process is really slow and methodical because that's how they train you. It's ingrained in you, like an instinct."

No, an instinct is staying in the plane in the first place. Now that's an instinct. Exiting at 14,000 feet is something else completely.

See, the best stories sometimes aren't found at the biggest schools or in the revenue-producing sports. Sometimes, it takes hearing about a Val Sobol, seeing pictures of someone doing somersaults two miles up in the air, listening to an athlete describe being "pumped up on adrenaline" to remember what even makes a best story.

This isn't just a hobby for Sobol, either. The junior has jumped more than 500 times. She has jumped for fun and for competition. She has jumped wearing a parachute and wearing a wingsuit, one of those flying squirrel outfits.

She has won competitions nationally and internationally and now she and her Panthers teammates have their head coach committed to jumping, too, the prospect leaving Courtney Calderon feeling a thud "deep in the pit of my stomach."

If you think you have a sinking feeling now, Coach, just wait until you jump out of the plane.

Just how inspiring is Sobol? She has moved Calderon, a wife and the mother of two little girls, to the edge of some very genuine fears.

Here's the deal: The Panthers were struggling in early October, and Calderon, in a moment of tremendous strength or complete weakness, agreed to jump if the team somehow could rally and then win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

"At that point, it was 'OK, anything to motivate them,'" Calderon says. "From that moment, they really started playing better. They turned it around."

Van Sobol, right, has jumped from a plane more than 500 times, for fun and in competition. The 20-year-old Chapman student has been skydiving since she was 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Chapman soccer player Val Sobol (3) convinced Panthers coach Courtney Calderon to jump out of a plane if the team won the conference tournament, which it did. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Van Sobol has jumped from a plane more than 500 times, for fun and in competition. The 20-year-old Chapman student has been skydiving since she was 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Van Sobol has jumped from a plane more than 500 times, for fun and in competition. The 20-year-old Chapman student has been skydiving since she was 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Van Sobol, right, has jumped from a plane more than 500 times, for fun and in competition. The 20-year-old Chapman student has been skydiving since she was 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Chapman soccer player Val Sobol (3) convinced Panthers coach Courtney Calderon to jump out of a plane if the team won the conference tournament, which it did. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.